CBC Interviews Berding's Replacement

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(****UPDATE AT BOTTOM)

One
of the most common complaints among many residents over the decades
is that Big Business controls City Hall and municipal government, not
citizens. Although some officials have denied it, that seems to be
the case when it comes to who will be the next city councilperson.

Although
they've tried to keep it quiet, Councilmen Jeff Berding and Chris
Bortz held a private meeting Wednesday to conduct interviews about
Berding's potential replacement. Except Bortz and Berding didn't take
the lead on the interviews; various corporate executives from the
Cincinnati Business Committee (CBC) asked the questions, reliable
sources have confirmed.

Three
people were interviewed by the CEOs. They were:

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Republican Brad Wenstrup, a podiatrist and U.S. Army veteran who
unsuccessfully ran for mayor in 2009;

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Charterite Kevin Flynn, an attorney from Mount Airy who first ran for
council in '09; and

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Republican Crystal Faulkner, a Hyde Park accountant who hosts a radio
show on WNKU (89.7 FM) and frequently holds fundraisers for GOP
candidates.

Among
the people who conducted the interviews were Bob Castellini, owner of
the Cincinnati Reds and who operates a fruit and vegetable wholesaler; Tom
Williams, president of North American Properties and a Reds investor,
who is the CBC's current head; and John Barrett, president and CEO of
Western & Southern Financial Group.

The
list isn't all-inclusive; other CEOs also were involved in the
questioning.

Interestingly,
Berding was the sole “no” vote when City Council voted last month
to reject Western & Southern's request to
block federal funding for the Anna Louise Inn, a battered women’s
shelter on Lytle Street downtown. The company was eyeing the
property, located near its corporate headquarters, to develop
high-end condos. A City Council majority reaffirmed its earlier
decision to award $2.6 million in federal grants to the shelter,
which will be part of a $12.5 million renovation that begins this
spring.

Berding,
who is sales and marketing director for the Cincinnati Bengals,
announced Jan. 27 that he would resign from council “in a few
weeks.” Officially, he designated Bortz to select his replacement.

Berding's
resignation comes after he lost the Democratic Party's endorsement in
2009 for bucking the mayor and City Council's Democrats on a budget
proposal. Although Berding has said he is quitting to spend more time
at his Bengals job, it was announced shortly after he alienated the
police and firefighter unions and some West Side groups, which had
provided his primary base of support.

****UPDATE: Bortz has told CityBeat he didn't attend the meeting and wasn't aware it was being held, contrary to what sources connected to the meeting have said. Read more about the situation in this week's Porkopolis column, published on Feb. 23.